Business District at Lunch

In Fitzrovia, i felt a feeling of urgency - lunch was an escape from the stress of the day, but even in that reprieve it was impossible to avoid “work talk.” None of those people knew each other, yet they were all in a collective experience - deep in their careers, in a capitalistic culture, unable to really separate themselves from it, even for a short while. There was something very vain and performative - I noticed less sincerity in the conversations I overheard.

I decided to not twist this one into something “poetic” - the sentiments I heard were very corporate and boring in nature, though they were also, unfortunately, relatable - and a bit overwhelming. I wanted to convey the feeling of being lost within career culture - our lives primarily at the mercy of our paychecks, our bosses and our image. I used the phrase I overheard outside a Pret, “are you missing something?”, to contrast the endless stream of work related ramblings.

This was an experimentation ultimately - I really wanted to try out RISO printing, and it took me about an hour to get ONE print I was actually happy with. But I’m thankful this project allowed me to do so.

WHAT I OVERHEARD

I might get one of those
Sorry?
& she was like - I’m here on and off until Christmas and I was like - maybe more off than on
So max was the only one who didn’t come in
He gets paid that afternoon
So how long to I have to wait
I mean it’s like 70% or something 
She did have that boxed off 
Their small ones are very big
It looked great on him
And I will try and get that organised 
Are you missing something?
Yea, he’s chillin 
I wouldn’t judge anyone for wearing 
I just want to be friends
It’s a good move for them cause I reckon 50% don’t use it
It used to be 7 times a day
Yeah you told me
It’s quite impressive
So the best thing to do is…
And she had a really important project with Rod
The problem is I get loads of subscriptions for twitter and shit
It’s rather irrelevant 
She won’t talk to me about Cartier